Empress
by Raven Shinobi
Summary: Persona III, MinatoMitsuru. Following the Empress S. Link, this is a little one-shot exploring the relationship between Minato and Mitsuru after the end of the game.


**Disclaimer: the Persona franchise is the property of Atlus.**

**Pairing: Minato/Mitsuru.**

**A/N: dialogues in _itali_c are inner thoughts.**

**I wrote this fic before playing FES, and considering the fate of a certain character this kind of story is impossible to happen in the canon timeline of the game. So, I hope this will be treated as AU. I also would like to thank Ganheim for his critique; I fixed the mistakes and re-checked some facts.**

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**Empress**

* * *

Mitsuru grimaced as water penetrated the veneer of her band-aid to sting the fresh cut that she had tended to earlier. Ever since she took over the conglomerate, she had been more prone to getting paper cuts than in the dozen of her school years combined. There were just so many reports and documents that she had to take a look at and study in order to get a clear overview of the company's structure and state.

A ghost of a smile betrayed the stoic expression on her face as she recalled the protective measures that her friends had suggested when she had mentioned it the last time all of the former S.E.E.S. members were gathered. Takeba chortled teasingly behind her hand-which she in a ladylike manner had brought over her mouth to block it from view-why she would not start wearing a thimble when she goes through her papers. While as Iori drawled why she won't start wearing gauze around her hands and fingers like what ninjas and samurais do in anime and manga whenever they undergo fierce training.

As her eyes met her reflection in the mirror, the small towel that she had been drying her hands with dropped in the sink to unconsciously stretch one perfectly manicured finger to trace what she perceived as an apparition of her former self. Her cheeks were kind of pushed inwards, marked by those unattractive symmetrical lines on each side of her face; and her complexion was as pale as that of an anorexic super model. There were also black bags that rimmed the lower lids of her dim eyes, indicating lack of beauty sleep...

Ever since she had turned down that transaction of a marriage proposal and decided to tread the crooked, thorny path, she felt like a domestic animal that had wandered into a forest inhabited with perfidious wolves donning the cloaks of harmless lambs. Everyone of the company associates were looking down on her due to her age and inexperience, and were fishing for a chance to ensnare her in their meticulously laid traps with their masks of empathy and insincere words of concern. She wondered every time she was able to see through their act how many of them rejoiced over her father's death and the convenience of him leaving the conglomerate in the care of his teenage daughter.

_"People are materialistic nowadays and have no room for virtue and compassion in their hearts. They don't care whether their wealth and success are gained at the expense of someone else's suffering._"

Her fingers brushed her long bangs away from her eye that now glinted with anger under the electric light at that thought, her trembling hands by her sides balling into fists.

_"They all disgust me! Father had atoned for grandfather's sins and gave his life so we could carry out our mission and rid the world of shadows. I'll never forgive them for thinking of his death in terms of advantages and disadvantages!_"

Her eyes narrowed at her reflection that looked back at her with belligerence and her fist flew to deliver a punch at it-luckily lacking the momentum to bloody her fingers with the web of cracks that could've been created underneath. One of the code of conducts that fighting shadows had instilled in her was to always analyze her opponent and device an offensive and defensive strategy according to their weaknesses and strengths; and so, she had decided to probe the financial backgrounds of each and everyone of her associates and arm herself with knowledge of business and its world. She'll make them all rue the day they decided to underestimate the daughter of Kirijou Takeharu!

As the sudden playing of Debussy's Claire de Lune interrupted her incensed train of thoughts, Mitsuru quickly finished drying her hands and rummaged her jeans pocket for her cell phone. She replied with her voice echoing in the vicinity of her marble bathroom.

"Hello?"

_"Mitsuru?_"

A rosy hue colored Mitsuru's cheeks as she heard that familiar voice calling her by her first name.

_"I'm in the neighborhood, if you're not busy, how about joining me for dinner at Duck Burger? They have a new item on their menu that I thought you might want to try!_"

Mitsuru smirked as she shut her eyes-did he expect her to turn him down after bribing her with dinner at her favorite fast food restaurant?

She was quite stressed with her struggling to fit in as the group's president and emotionally drained from dealing with all those gluttonous chrome domes who seemingly never heard of liposuction or hair implant. She could really use the spiritual energy that his company would charge her with!

She answered with her most inviting voice, "Please do. I could use some company!"

And as she hung up, she immediately exited the bathroom to check her appearance in the mirror. Once she finished combing her wavy hair that she pulled to one side over her shoulder in her trademark look, she dusted her cheeks with some blusher and outlined her eyes with eye shadow that matched her attire in hope to conceal signs of malnutrition and and accumulated fatigue. She finally picked up her designer purse and descended the stairs to order the servants to line up and get ready to greet her boyfriend.

* * *

"Sorry for stopping by without an earlier invitation!" Minato stated apologetically as he took his seat next to her on the bench at the park. He took her hands in his after he placed their dinner aside, "you must be quite tired after coming back from work."

Mitsuru was all flushed as he began stroking the back of her hand with his thumb and averted her face as she replied coyly, "not at all. Please stop by as much as you can!"

"Sanada-senpai told me that your business associates are giving you such a hard time and that you've been pretty depressed lately. Why did you keep that from me?"

As she noted the hurt in his voice, as his hand stopped stroking hers, Mitsuru's dilated eyes instantly met his as she hurriedly clarified. "Midterms and the national championship are approaching and you just got that part-time job to save up for college. You've already got too many things to worry about all at once. I didn't want to burden you with my share of problems as well!"

"You have no idea how guilty I'll end up feeling if I found out from others that you have been suffering through all that alone. I may not know much about business or have the power to improve the situation for you some how, but as your boyfriend it's my responsibility to listen to you and support you through it all."

Mitsuru smiled elatedly at how concerned he sounded. She purred as she bashfully averted her eyes, tucking a strand of hair that was teasing her eye behind her ear. "So, treating the president of the renowned Kirijou group to fast food under the starlit sky of the park is your idea of a romantic outing, huh? You're quite bold!"

"I figured you'd need a change of venue and air after being cooped up all day between the walls of your air-conditioned office." Minato chuckled as he dug his hand inside the garishly colored paper bag of Duck Burger to hand her what she had ordered. He then promised playfully, "I'll invite you to a French restaurant at Ginza once I get my paycheck!"

"The setting and the food don't matter as long as the both of us are having fun in each other's company!" Mitsuru urged as she picked up her soda and sucked on the straw.

"To me, you're an Empress, Mitsuru." Minato proclaimed as he picked several strips of French fries and nibbled on them, "you deserve to be treated like one!"

"Arisato..."

The addressed boy watched as his girlfriend left a lipstick mark around the tip of her straw as she broached with a forced smile upon her face. Alarmed as she called him by his family name this time-which indicated that she was either dead serious or irritated. The mild tone of her voice suggested the former.

"You have no idea how ecstatic it makes me feel knowing that you have placed me on such a high pedestal. _But,_ do you think it will make me satisfied being aware that you're constantly depriving yourself and that you might end up being unable to cover college tuition-all because you think I should be lavished with things and be invited to places that fit my financial stature?"

He watched as she averted her sight as the expression of despondency was drawn on her face. "As someone who would never be able to go to college while all of her friends would someday, I know better than anyone how important getting a degree is."

Her cherry-painted lips curved into a smile, as she placed her hand that was adorned with a diamond ring on his shoulder and squeezed as she implored. "I have my family business to support me, but you're an orphan. Your education and future career will be the only things that will determine your place and stature in society. I don't want you to throw that away to try and impress me!"

Minato was speechless. Mitsuru once told him how it had always been her dream to study abroad in France; surrounded everyday by the culture that she so much adored all her life. But her father's death and the obligation to supervise the company after him had buried that dream, forever.

Silence that was stirred by the chirping of cicadas and the sound of water pouring from the fountain loomed over the couple as the younger boy thought of a way to lighten the mood. He smiled once an idea occurred to him.

"Why don't you apply for an online degree then? There's no need for you to take time off work and the program offers schedules for those on time constraint-which will be really convenient for your situation. On top of that, you can choose whichever university you want from all around the globe!"

Mitsuru's face lit with optimism at the suggestion. She admitted embarrassedly as she raised her paper glass in the air, "just why haven't I thought of that? I guess I was too narrow-minded and drowned in my despair to consider other, more practical options!"

"Your life had just been overturned and you suddenly found yourself responsible for a conglomerate that you were at that time lacking the confidence to run, just like your father did. It's very likely under those circumstances to be overcome with uncertainty and lose sight of which route to take from there on."

"But you and everyone have showed me that life goes on despite the tragedies that befall us, and that we shouldn't face everything on our own." She then added with enthusiasm as she took her burger out of the box, "do you have some time to spare tonight? I want you to be with me when I submit my application to study online!"

And Mitsuru watched as he smiled and nodded at her. She averted her eyes as the hue of bashfulness colored her cheeks once again; meeting Minato and falling for him was indeed a blessing. If fate hadn't been that kind to her, she would've committed the mistake of her life and married someone whom she didn't feel for who wasn't the least bit considerate of her feelings or needs.

Minato's love that didn't disappear nor lessen after she had graduated and started her new life made her experience the greatest feeling of all-the certainty that you will not be alone and forgotten even in the darkest of hours... that there's someone who will be there for you and stand by your side no matter what.

Every sign of his affection made her heart flutter... made her feel vulnerable and frail-just like a porcelain doll that will crack under the slightest sign of withdrawal from him. Her fear of losing this surpassed that when she stood there on the top of Tartarus with her heart trembling before Nyx as the world was drawing into an imminent end, but she wouldn't allow even her greatest fears to dampen this precious time with him.


End file.
